


Chapel

by polyphaga



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: F/F, Massage, Oral Sex, Porn with Feelings, Shower Sex, The Boss is my Strong Bi Mom, Tribadism, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 13:14:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6659545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polyphaga/pseuds/polyphaga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two women who couldn't be more different discover they actually have a lot in common. WINK. </p><p>Some sappy shower BossLove. NOW A THREE-PARTER!! Mercury Project Era. Basically canon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The women’s showers in NASA’s Mercury Project lab became a sort of sanctuary for Joan, because they were, as she would later bitterly joke, the organization’s one half-hearted gesture at equality between the sexes. To decompress from a day surrounded by male engineers who would alternately pester her with cruel barbs or unwanted attention, at least she had an entire, pristine white-tile bathroom to herself. Joan never bothered drawing the curtains between the showers. She was the only one there, after all. The warm water gradually filling the large cavern with steam, the sound of drops hitting tile echoing through the whole room, the inordinately large showers were like her own chapel, cleansing in more ways than one. 

Maybe it was the combination of force of habit as well as her mind being elsewhere, but even on the day another woman joined the Mercury Project, she went about showering the same way, stripping down to nothing as soon as the door closed behind her, casually dropping her towel on a bench, turning on two of the showerheads so she could get a generous flow of hot water going and warm the area up faster. While Joan’s skin was delicate under the sun, she loved her showers just short of scalding, leaving her shoulders tinged pink and feeling as if she were slightly glowing as she returned to her room to apply some lightly scented lotion (lavender, and of a specific brand made in her hometown that she had to mail order each month) before climbing in bed. She was thinking about that moment, the culmination of that ritual when her head would hit the pillow and she could get some blessed relaxation, when she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the door’s handle turning. 

Joan spun around, ready to rain down the full weight of HR administrative terror on whatever bastard had gotten desperate enough to make such a pathetic move, but froze like a startled deer when she instead met the eyes of the woman who had introduced herself to her this morning as simply ‘Joy.’ 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you,” Joy was wrapped in a plain white towel and had her shoulder-length blonde hair held back with a drab green bandanna. Joan felt herself going into a full-body flush but thankfully the streaks of pink on her skin from the hot shower hid it well enough. She grimaced, realizing she must have been making an absolutely terrifying face just moments ago. After silently turning back to the water and pretending to be absorbed in scrubbing her arm with a bar of soap for a few moments, her heart dropped out of her throat.

“It’s not your fault. I’m still not used to there being another woman around,” she said quietly, embarrassed now by her towel left in a lump, using two showerheads, leaving all the curtains open. It all must have seemed so frivolous and childish to the other woman, a woman who had fought in the war, for god’s sake. Still, correcting any of those things at this point would just draw more attention to the awkward setup. Joan stewed under the steady blast of water, imagining herself going red as a tomato, until she felt the presence of the woman next to her, turning on the next nearest shower with a gentle squeak of the faucet. 

“At least we get this whole room to ourselves, then,” she commented. Her voice was gentle, deep. “You wouldn’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve gotten to shower with less than ten other people.”

“Mmhm, I can’t imagine.” Joan couldn’t stop herself before turning to glance at Joy in response, with a shy smile she hoped was friendly. The fear of being instantly spotted as a pervert, a weirdo nearly paralyzed her in place, but she still took a second to look over at the other woman’s body. It couldn’t have been more different from hers. Lightly tanned, taut and muscular, but there was still something undeniably motherly about it as well. A visceral pink scar twined its way between her generous breasts and wide-set hips. This, combined with that hard, noble face. God, she really was beautiful. Joan felt her pulse leap for a moment, but simply returned to scrubbing her own body, pale, out of shape, slightly pudgy, the slight bud of her breasts only contributing to her androgynous look. They went on scrubbing themselves in a companionable silence for a few more moments, the room becoming thick with steam and the gentle sound of water droplets. Joan wondered why the other woman confidently went about washing herself without pulling across a curtain or at least moving further away. Maybe the jokes the other scientists loved to make hadn’t reached her yet.

“So, Joanie, how long have you been here?” Joan found herself blushing again at the tender diminutive of her name, something she hadn’t even been called as a child since it didn’t seem to suit her serious disposition. It was so strange to be called by her real name now, after coming to begrudgingly tolerate the awful nickname she’d been given, not like anyone would do anything about it if she complained. 

“Uh... about two years now,” she responded nervously. “I finished my degree at Caltech early and was recruited right off the bat.”

“Mm, so they sought you out.”

“You could say that.”

“You must be talented.”

Joan scoffed, now that they were falling into a comfortable back and forth. “Really? How am I supposed to respond to that? Say yes and sound irredeemably pompous or--”

“It’s not pompous if it’s true. No woman gets to the position you have at your age without being twice as good as most men.” 

“How generous of you. You’d know, of course?” Joy gave a slight chuckle at that, and Joan felt her heart leap. 

“Right, I guess I would.”

They parted ways at the hall leading to the dormitories, realizing they had to go opposite ways to reach their rooms. Joan wanted to reach out, touch her shoulder, shake her hand, but any attempt at physical contact seemed too awkward. Being around Joy was making her realize how long it’d been since she had genuinely enjoyed the company of another woman, and she longed for that physical intimacy, even if it was platonic. While she was panicking, turning over in her mind what to do, she heard Joy’s voice, her tone sweet and relaxed.

“Good night, Joanie.”

All she could do was timidly raise her hand in response.

“Y... yeah, you too.”

 

***

 

She wanted to touch her so badly.

You’d think showering with another woman almost every evening would easily lend itself to accomplishing that simple task, a normal gesture between two women who had, she’d dare say it, become friends. Each evening under adjacent streams of water they’d recount the banal aspects of their day, the little frustrations and pleasures, making the other alternately laugh or groan in sympathy. As different as they seemed, they also had a lot in common. But there never seemed to be an opening to demonstrate the affection that built up. 

Until one day, when Joan noticed Joy wincing, curled in on herself as she tried to reach around and wash her back. 

“You alright?” Joy looked up suddenly, as if she wasn’t even aware she appeared to be in pain.

“What? Oh, they just did strength testing for me today. To see how heavy things can be made on the ship, that I’d still conceivably be able to lift them.” She paused, wincing. “Or.. attempt to escape from it if anything went wrong.” Joy stopped to read Joanie’s expression, noticeably darkened. “It was just some routine tests. I was lifting these awful resistance bars all day, and now it feels like I can hardly bring my arms up to my shoulders...”

“Do you want me to wash your back?” Joan had blurted out the question as soon as it had occurred to her, not taking time to reconsider now. Immediately afterwards, as it hung in the humid air though, the same nerves clawed at her chest. 

“That would be nice.”

Joan tried not to exhale the breath she’d been holding in too loudly as she grabbed a bar of soap and detached one of the showerheads she had running from its stand. She slowly covered Joy’s back in suds from the bar of soap, and then rinsed it away with carefully aimed sprays from the showerhead. As she guided the torrent of water along the other woman’s back, hopefully loosening her sore, battered muscles, she reached up with her other hand, to lightly run her fingers along the divots between the defined muscles of her back. 

“That feels good.” Joan could feel her face get hot at the guttural sigh accompanying Joy’s comment. 

“Almost done.” She pulled her hand away and lowered the showerhead off to the side, swallowing hard before going on. “Joy, listen, I’m sure you’ve heard what the men in the lab say about me... and maybe you think it’s some cruel joke to get back at a woman who rivals their own accomplishments but... they’re not wrong.”

“About what?”

“That I’m... a lesbian.” Joan could feel her stomach drop with the fear of rejection, how she usually felt the few times she’d allowed that sentence to leave her mouth. “I just thought... since you seemed so comfortable around me like this, I had to tell you so... I mean, I understand if--” She stopped suddenly, looking down at her feet and pinching the bride of her nose with her free hand. “I’m sorry. This is stupid.”

“Joan.” The other woman’s voice sounded flat and unamused, the kind of displeased annoyance that always made Joan’s heart stop. “Two decades in the military and you really think that would be something shocking to me?” It took a second for the obviousness of her comment to register. Overwhelming relief flooded Joan’s chest and, stupid, stupid! She found herself trying to blot away tears gathering in the creases of her eyes before Joy turned to look at her. 

“Of course, right. Silly me.” She didn’t look up but could tell Joy was turned to look at her now, felt her step closer, place a hand on her shoulder. “I guess I just let that stupid nickname they gave me get in my head.”

“Strangelove?”

“Yeah.” 

“It’s not so bad. Maybe it’s strange from a narrow minded, purely functional point of view, but it takes different points of view for humanity to progress. If we all felt the same about everything nothing would ever happen, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“I know they’re being cruel, but maybe think of that and it will hurt less.” Joy gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling her hand away, but Joan leaned forward, throwing her arms around the woman’s waist, sobbing into her chest.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just felt so alone, for years now,” she stammered, trying to catch her breath, head spinning from the embarrassment of this pathetic display. “This... this isn’t even your problem, I don’t know why--” She stopped as she felt a comforting hand come to rest on the top of her head. 

“Joanie, look at me.” She waited until Joan’s eyes nervously met hers before going on. “I know it’s lonely. We have to be strong, both of us.” She took the showerhead from Joan’s hand gently, and turned her around. “Now, let me return the favor.”

Feeling Joy’s hands rubbing the soap suds into her back felt divine. Her fingers were rough with calluses, and long but graceful, and as they trailed down to her hip as Joy rinsed off her back, she couldn’t help but imagine them going elsewhere, panting shallowly from the heat, the pleasure, and that mental image. Just as she was prepared for Joy to pull away, for them to towel off and go their sperate ways, she felt the hand on her hip tighten, pulling her in flush against the other woman’s body. A small gasp must have escaped her lips because Joy paused for a moment before going on.

“Is this okay?” That beautiful voice murmured, breathy and unbelievably close to her ear.

“Yes, god, please,” she groaned, leaning her entire body back against the frame supporting her, as Joy’s hand wove between her legs, and she felt the woman’s lips mouthing her neck and shoulders. With the other hand, she directed the showerhead to spray across Joan’s chest, teasing her already-pert nipples. Joan squirmed, gasping as the other woman’s fingers gently pinched and rubbed her clit before gently stroking down to her opening, dipping a finger in to caress her insides. She went back and forth, teasing her to the edge several times before Joan let out a frustrated moan that seemed to compel her to get on with it. She tossed the showerhead carelessly to the side, where it swung from its lead, spraying water across their legs and reached up to take one of Joan’s small breasts in her hand, grasping, hard and ravenous. 

“Joy, oh my god--” Joan could feel her body beginning to tense, legs shaking, glad Joy had leveraged the other arm at the last minute to help hold her up. When Joy responded, her voice was unbelievably deep and close, she was mouthing her earlobe.

“Mmm, it’s okay, let it go.”

And she did. The pleasure seemed to jolt into her body, pulsing like electricity, and Joy held her close as she panted and groaned, her head lolling to one side. As she came down from the high she felt Joy pressing kisses into her neck and cheek, and responded with a shy one of her own. 

“That was amazing.”

“Can you stand on your own?”

“I think so.” As Joy’s arms released her to a shaky but upright position, she turned to face her, and the woman had a beautifully serene smile on her face. Joan ran her hand down one of Joy’s arms, taking her hand and placing the other on her upper thigh for balance as she slowly began to lower to her knees. The look Joy gave her was confused, surprised, the look of a woman who gave by instinct and never thought to receive anything in return. But Joan wanted this, wanted to feel her body tense against her fingers and hands and tongue too, more than anything. 

“Spread your legs a little,” Joy’s look of concern persisted, but she complied. Joan began gently massaging her thigh, and lapping at her slit. After a few gentle passes with her tongue she nuzzled in deeper, feeling a quiver run through the other woman’s thigh as a low, elegant moan escaped her lips. It only drove Joan on in her efforts, desperate to hear that beautiful noise again and again. Her face was turned up, and she was grasping at Joy desperately to hold herself in this worshipful pose. It seemed like the warmth and wetness emanating from Joy’s body was running down her throat, to where her heart was beating like a jackhammer in her chest. Finally, an escaped moan echoing around the tile, a violent, full-body shudder, and Joan was reassured she had hit her mark. 

Joy slowly slid down the shower wall she had backed up against in the process, and then they were both crouched in the shallow water on the pure white tile. They gazed at each other, both panting, both a bit amazed, before Joy reached forward and gently pushed Joan onto her back, snaking a hand between her legs again. They had time. The showers were like their own private chapel, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

“Joan, are you alright? You’ve been awfully quiet.”  
  
The directness of the question snapped Joan out of her trance, back to the feeling of her freshly-scrubbed body and the cool wooden slats of the bench under her back. She flushed red looking up at the standing over her, straddling one of her thighs.  
  
“We... we’re just... a lot closer to the door here? I didn’t want to be loud in case--”  
  
Joy smirked, leaning down to nuzzle the crook of Joan’s neck gently, where she was still slightly damp and smelled of plain soap. “Really? And what could they do about it?”  
  
“Be serious!” Joan hissed, squirming away slightly. “Besides the general indecency of it all, they could deem it a distraction or some sort of horrible abomination and have me moved to another project.”  
  
“They can’t do that, they need you.” Joy responded flatly, pulling away to get a better look at the other woman’s face. It was true, rather, it had become true over the past week, when news came down from the top that the Russians had windows on their spacecraft, so naturally the Americans would have added that feature as well, preferably yesterday. Joan was the only one who had been able to come up with a viable schematic in such a demanding timeline, and had been thrust into essentially leading the project. Being reminded of the responsibility made her feel nauseous.  
  
“Fine,” She persisted. “They could take you off the project. Deem you unfit.”  
  
Joy scoffed at that. “That’s not happening either. Besides, I should be the one lecturing you. I’ve heard about the little photo frame that’s appeared on your desk.” Joan felt herself going redder, the blotches spreading to her naked, pale chest but still tried to hide it under a self-assured grin.  
  
“I’m sure most of them assume my affections are unreturned.”  
  
“Right, they couldn’t imagine... An all-American hero like me...” Joy trailed off, leaning in to kiss Joan again, and began to gently rock her hips, working a moan out of the other woman as they slid snugly together again. Their bodies easily found a productive rhythm and the heat and slickness between Joan’s legs slowly grew overwhelming, beginning to radiate out into shivers running all over her body. Able to tell that her partner was getting close, Joy began grinding against her more roughly, and dipped down again to whisper into her ear.  
  
“Anyways, you know what I’d do, if I heard anyone taking issue with this?”  
  
“What?” Joan asked, breathless.  
  
“I’d go straight to the director’s office and tell him, given what I’m doing here...” She paused, and Joan could feel the dark smirk in her voice, lips practically pressed up against her ear. “I’d tell him I could be fucking you on his desk and it would be no one’s goddamn business.”  
  
Joan threw her head back, gasping, as the tantalizingly forbidden image flashed through her mind. A surge of emotions pierced her heart all at once, euphoria, adoration, anxiety, fear... She felt her entire body begin to quiver and she moaned, again and again, as her Joy pinned her arms down, riding her as she writhed through her orgasm.  
  
  
A few minutes later, after they had scrubbed each other off and gathered their things, Joy and Joan stood at the hallway where they usually had to part, wrapped in matching white towels. Both of them hesitated, not wanting to separate, even if it was just for the night.   
  
“Joan,” Joy said, after a moment. “I want you to come to my room tonight.”  
  
It was what Joan had been hoping to hear since their first time together in the showers, but she could already feel her skin prickling slightly from the drying effect of the hot water.   
  
“No, come to mine. I have something you can help with,” She said, slipping her hand into Joy’s and leading the way.   
  
Their rooms were essentially identical, modest twin bed with a desk and chair, wardrobe, mirror and small counter. The only things that truly differed, Joy noted, studying the room, were the contents of the wardrobe, Joan’s smart blouses and waistcoats to her practical fatigues, and the stack of obviously well-loved science fiction novels piled on Joan’s desk. One book sat slightly away from the others, clearly newer and with a scrap of paper jutting out near the end.   
  
“ _Time Out of Joint_ ,” Joy said softly, running her fingers along the cover.   
  
“Pretty good,” Joan said, rummaging through the closet. “It’s about a man who cracks under the pressure of being the only one who can defend Earth from alien nuclear strikes but... ah.” She emerged with a light purple tube in hand, shutting the wardrobe with a gentle clack. “But.. you don’t know that in the beginning. I got ahead of myself. I guess I’ve spoilt it for you now.” She slid the tube into Joy’s hand, smiling gently. “Sorry. Hope you aren’t too mad.”  
  
“It’s fine, you’re charming when you get excited about something,” Joy remarked with a faint smile before looking down to read the label on the tube. “Body lotion? You invited me to your room just to put me to work? Very romantic, Joan.”  
  
“I have to do it, I figure it’d go faster if you helped.” Joan responded coyly, letting the towel drop to a heap on the floor. “Unless you want me to start desiccating before your eyes.”  
  
“Can’t have that.” Joy stepped forward, backing Joan onto the bed and letting her towel fall around her ankles as well. Joan got herself comfortable, wrapping her arms around the pillow and lying face down as she heard the familiar sound of the tube’s lid snapping open. It was only a matter of moments before she felt graceful, lightly calloused fingers ghosting on her back.  
  
As lovely as it felt, it was the time of night when Joan tended to let her mind wander. In the past weeks she had learned more about this woman, The Boss, a national hero and founder of the US Special Forces, but she would always just be Joy to her. This intimate, personal connection was what made the task demanded of her so impossible to Joan. Before, she trusted herself to be able to design a pod that would be able to bring a human into space and back safely, but now, with the new demands and last-minute changes to the design--  
  
“Joan.”  
  
“Mm? Feels good. Keep going.”  
  
“You’re quiet again.”  
  
“Oh come on, didn’t you get enough noise out of me earlier?” Joan said, forcing a soft chuckle. “What do you want me to do, blab on more about my silly novels?”  
  
“Is that so unbelievable?” With Joan lying face down, they were able to chuckle and tease one another as Joy lazily traced the curves of the other woman’s back and spine, working the lotion in. Eventually, Joan felt a soft pat on her shoulders and heard the familiar, gentle voice again.  
  
“Roll over.”  
  
Joan rolled over hesitantly, blushing as she met Joy’s inescapable gaze. Usually she would be happy to be face-to-face and naked with the woman who made her heart pound but now, without a pillow to bury her face in, it was clear to see that her mind was elsewhere.  
  
“Joan, talk to me, please.”  
  
Joan quickly broke eye contact, looking down and digging her fingers into the sheets.   
  
“You know what it is,” she muttered, the response coming out harsher and more venomous than she expected.   
  
“I want to know how you feel about it.” Joan shot Joy a pleading look at that, hoping to convey: _isn’t it obvious? don’t make me say it_ , and yet she persisted. “I want to hear it from you.”  
  
“Fine... It’s the damned window, of course.” Joan gave a thin sigh and threw her forearm over her eyes, a preemptive measure to try and keep herself from bursting into tears in front of the woman again. It seems like I barely have time to check my work before they’re pulling the blueprints and calculations off my desk and sending them along to the designers... and every day there’s another tweak to the brief. I feel like I’m losing my mind.” Her throat tightened for a moment, but she swallowed hard, determined to pull herself together, be strong. “The way the current calculations look... they don’t care. It doesn’t matter to them if you live or die and--” She felt her lungs gasp in air, trying to abate the feeling of tears rushing into her eyes. “If something... goes wrong... they’re going to have the blood fall on my hands.”  
  
“Joan, you can’t think like that,” Joy responded firmly, after a pause. She reached down to grasp Joan’s wrist and gently pulled it away from her face, studying her blotchy eyes. “You’re going to kill yourself with stress that way. This was my choice. No matter what happens, I won’t blame you.”  
  
“Oh, fat lot of comfort that’ll be if you’re dead!” Joan cried, sitting up in bed. “And how do you think everyone else will see it? That’s easy for you to say but how do you think I’ll feel back down here on the ground if the whole thing turns into a flaming coffin?”  
  
Joy seemed taken aback, given her position it was not unusual for her to be challenged but to be spoken back to with such emotion, well, it had probably been a few years by now.   
  
“You’re right,” She said at last. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Joan flopped back onto the bed with a huff.   
  
“I won’t let them do it. Either I design a window I have 100% confidence in, or that ship doesn’t leave the ground." She frowned, turning her face away to stare absently at the stack of books on her desk. “I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll get them to... somehow.”  
  
“I trust you,” Joy said gently. Joan heard the clack of the lotion tube opening again and after a few seconds heard it snap shut again. Joy rubbed her palms together before tracing around Joan’s breasts with her hands, gently kneading with her thumbs until the nipples perked up and Joan let out a shuddering sigh. “My little genius, I never doubted you could pull it off.”  
  
Joan let her eyes flutter shut, trying to enjoy the affectionate attentions and praise of her partner as the massage continued. Joy worked from shoulders to waist to hips, heaping attention on every inch of her unnaturally pale skin, but Joan’s brow still furrowed with worry, mind elsewhere. As she finished, and gently lifted her hands away, Joan’s hand shot out to seize her wrist.  
  
“Joy... Don’t leave me.”  
  
“You know I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Even miles above earth, outside of the atmosphere, you’ll be protecting me.”  
  
Joan kept her eyes scrunched shut. “That’s not what I meant.”  
  
“I know.” Joy bent down, and with her free hand brushed Joan’s silvery pale, still-damp hair away from her face, before pressing a kiss into her forehead. “I’m sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! It's a three-parter!
> 
> I enjoyed writing the first part a ton and as I thought about them more I just kept coming up with more ideas for their time together at NASA so I decided to continue this fic. ;~; tfw The Boss will never touch your boobs....

**Author's Note:**

> (´･ω･`)
> 
> ...thanksforread


End file.
